


Elizabeth Called Eddie

by sksdwrld



Series: Rock the Cradle [5]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Homelessness, Running Away
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-11
Updated: 2014-05-11
Packaged: 2018-01-24 10:15:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1601180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sksdwrld/pseuds/sksdwrld
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How Elizabeth came to be called Eddie.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Elizabeth Called Eddie

It was a cool afternoon and the sun was hiding beyond a bevy of clouds but that didn't stop the dumpsters from stinking up the alley. Elizabeth wrinkled her nose and held a hand in front of her face. She couldn't believe she was even contemplating this, but she was feeling faint with hunger. Her attempts at thievery had been unsuccessful -mostly, she'd just been too chicken, and she hadn't quite worked out how to scam people out of money without being recognized as a missing child. A few more months, and no one would notice or care, but it would be stupid the first week she ran away to put her face out there. Not when getting caught meant being delivered straight back to her mother and stepfather. Her mother, she could deal with, but _him_...if she had to endure it one more time she thought she might kill him.

So it had come to this: dumpster diving behind some low class establishment. As if she didn't stink enough already. Setting aside her compulsion and her pride, Elizabeth shrugged off her backpack and set it on the ground, away from the dumpsters, but still against the wall. She scanned in both directions and then scrambled up the side of one dumpster, managing to get a leg over the lip before her arms gave way. Upper body strength had never been her thing.

The smell of food was simultaneously wonderful and revolting. She thought of half-eaten cheeseburgers, French fries that children had sneezed on, and fish sandwiches sniffed at and disdained by wrinkly old people in diapers. Honestly, she was holding out for the fish. Anything still wrapped would do.

Elizabeth tore into the first bag, dismayed to find it was just kitchen trash. The second had wilting, shredded lettuce that stuck to her fingers and clothes, and mushy tomatoes that squished when she dug past them, making her retch. By the third bag, Eddie was thinking that the lettuce was looking better and better. Soggy buns soaked with soda, ketchup covered everything...

A distinct rap on the bin made her freeze. Fuck! On the street for six fucking days and she'd been caught already? She couldn't go back, couldn't go back, couldn't go back...maybe if she just didn't move, they'd think she was an animal and go away.

After a minute, the knock came again, and a metallic sound echoed around her. "I know you're in there!" A voice said. Still, Elizabeth waited. "You're fucking stupid 'coz they throw the outdated rolls in the next bin over...and you're probably gettin' all nasty for nothin'."

Elizabeth slowly peered over the dumpster. When she saw some filthy person pawing through her bookbag, she stood up and clambered out. "Hey! That's mine!"

The person -man or woman, Elizabeth couldn't tell- took a step back, clutching the bag tighter. "You left it, s'mine now." One by one, Elizabeth's clothes were pulled free and discarded with a scowl and she scrambled forward to retrieve each piece. "You're a newbie," they accused.

"Am not," Elizabeth sniffled as tears threatened to spill over. All she'd wanted was something to eat and now she was being hassled by some scumbag in an alleyway and the few personal effects she'd taken with her tossed around callously.

"You are. Look at you. Just a baby. What you, 'bout ten?" Elizabeth only glared at him. Her. It. She was almost fourteen, thank you very much. "Well, I been out here since I was thirteen and let me tell you, bad shit happens to little girls who live on the street, so you might as well stop telling yourself how bad you got it at home and head on back there."

"Fuck that." Elizabeth spat. "I'd rather die than go back there."

"Well, that's what's gonna happen to you, baby girl. You gon' freeze to death or starve to death or some asshole pimp, is gon' take you in and get you hooked on drugs and you gonna die that way, and they'll throw your body back in the same dumpster you just crawled outta."

"I don't care," Elizabeth lifted her chin.

"Well ain't nobody else going to either...." After rummaging through the rest of the bag and coming up with nothing of interest, it was shoved back in her general direction. "Here, you ain't got shit worth shit."

Elizabeth snatched it back and began stuffing her clothes back inside. With a snort, her companion shuffled away, turning only when Elizabeth called, "Wait!"

"What?"

She bit her lip. "Which...Which dumpster has the rolls in it?"

"None of em."

"But you said-"

"I said they throw them in that one there, but I already got 'em for today." Hot tears of frustration and desolation spilled over Elizabeth's cheeks before she could stop them and the vagrant sighed as though pained. "Let me tell you something, baby girl. Crying is showing weakness, and you know what people do with weakness? They fucking exploit it. Most people. Apparently I am a big, dumb softie."

Returning, the vagrant dug into a random pocket and came out with a crushed and flattened roll. "Here."

Elizabeth snatched it and crammed half into her mouth before it could be taken away. Her nose whistled as she breathed, her cheeks pouched out like a chipmunk's when she stuffed the rest of it in.

"You eat yesterday?" The vagrant asked as she chewed. Elizabeth shook her head. "Day before?" She kept shaking it and another roll was proffered with an accompanying sigh.

"You ain't never gonna make it on your own. You're too pretty and too soft. Clothes are too girlie. Gonna get yourself raped out here. Can't trust nobody, 'specially not the old bums, damn dirty perverts, handsy, wait til you fall asleep and then molest you."

Elizabeth felt her eyes widen but her mouth was too full of gummy bread to respond.

"What's your name?" The vagrant sighed.

She swallowed her mouthful, sticking a finger in her mouth to pick the remnants out of her teeth before realizing where her hands had been. Grimacing she replied, "Why should I tell you? You said not to trust anybody."

"Cept me..." It grinned. "Look, here, I'm Sam, and me and you, we're the same."

"I am not like you," Elizabeth said, her lip curling.

"You're gonna be. If you lucky. Ain't nobody fucks with me, hear? Coz I'm crazy and I'll stick 'em good. And so will you, if you're smart." Elizabeth looked at Sam and swallowed. "I tell you what-you hang with me and you'll be okay. Us gals, we gotta stick together out here."

"You're...You're a girl?" Elizabeth stammered in disbelief.

"With tits and everything, last time I checked." Sam smirked. "That's the thing- you look like a girl, they gonna try and take advantage of you every chance they get. They think you're a man, well, then you got the same chance as the rest of 'em. Now, you got a name or am I gonna be stuck calling you baby girl for all of eternity? Coz that doesn't exactly lend isself to you passing as a dick."

Elizabeth shied backwards, still dubious about taking Sam on as a mentor. She was dirty, smelly, crazy...And God only knew what else. Sam patted down her pockets and then jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "Couple of us stay back behind the supermarket. There's some food and maybe something to drink back there. Big tarp in case it starts raining."

As if on cue, the sky rumbled and Elizabeth looked up at the darkening clouds and then back at Sam. Heaving a sigh of resignation and wrapping her arms around herself, she said, "Elizabeth."

Sam snorted. "That ain't gonna cut it. Pick something else." And then she stood there with her hands on her hips likes she was expecting her to do it now. Elizabeth stammered idiotically. "You got a middle name?"

"Marie."

"Last name?"

"Dalton."

"Boy, you were saddled with a bunch of shit names." Sam snorted.

"Hey!"

"Hey nothin'. I used to be Samantha, now I'm Sam. Know another gal goes by Vic, for Victoria. Just pick something and stick with it. Frank, Mark, Gene, Ed, Joe..."

Elizabeth blinked. That was it. Elizabeth Dalton. E.D. "Um...Ed?"

"Wonderful. Now we gotta make you look like an Ed. You ain't partial to that hair, are you?"

Elizabeth fingered her collar-length locks and mutely shook her head.

"Alright. C'mon then, Eddie old pal. Got a pair of scissors back at the camp. They ain't even that rusty." Sam slung and arm around her shoulder and steered her down the alleyway. "Sam and Eddie...we're gonna be great friends, I can tell already."


End file.
